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Post by littleminnie on Dec 18, 2014 13:30:25 GMT -5
I grew Little Leaf cucumbers. They are OP and were my only cucumber in early summer for isolation. But they have parthenocarpic capabilities so how can I tell which were pollinated and have viable seeds? I finally cut them open and saved seeds yesterday and some had really tiny seeds so I suspected they hadn't been pollinated. I saved 18 fruits at full maturity.
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Post by zeedman on Dec 18, 2014 22:32:03 GMT -5
Hmmm... another OP parthenocarpic cucumber, interesting. I grow "WI 5207", which has the same traits; most of the vines are all female, and even on the vines with male flowers, they are few & far between. While I get a lot of ripe cukes to harvest when I save seed, most of the seeds within are undeveloped, and infertile. I'm guessing, but the ratio of bad seed to good seed is at least 10-1, and probably much greater. To process the seed, I scoop out as much juice with the seed as possible, and allow the mixture to ferment much as I would for tomatoes. Fermentation breaks up the gel sacs, allowing the good seed to sink... after which I rinse/float off the bad seeds and debris.
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Post by steev on Dec 19, 2014 1:01:16 GMT -5
Rule of thumb: the seeds that most resemble those you planted are most likely to give similar result.
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Post by littleminnie on Dec 19, 2014 11:14:28 GMT -5
That's what I was thinking. Just save the sinkers and that should cull the unfertilized ones. About 1/3 are sinking.
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Post by reed on Dec 19, 2014 14:49:58 GMT -5
That works for me. I grow a lot Arkansas Little Leaf which I guess has that parthenocarpic quality. Never been a problem though, in fact plenty come up volunteer from the discards. I have also allowed it to mix with others so probably not pure AL any more.
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Post by littleminnie on Dec 19, 2014 19:47:31 GMT -5
I strained out the sinkers and there were about 100. Not enough to sell or trade but plenty for me.
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